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Measuring the Poverty Level in India

poverty level in IndiaThe measurement of the poverty level in India has been the subject of much debate over the past decade, especially because of the lack of reliable figures and data. This year, following two articles on poverty in India published by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, a new debate on poverty in India emerged — the “Great India Poverty Debate 2.0” in reference to the “Great India Poverty Debate 1.0” that existed after the liberalization of India in the 1990s.

Difficulties in Assessing Poverty in India

Since the Indian government has not published any National Sample Survey (NSS) results since 2012, which includes the national statistics regarding poverty in the country, researchers began studies to determine the amount of poverty within India, particularly extreme poverty.

The studies employ different methods to measure the poverty level in India in order to provide more recent estimates. Both studies, the first by Bhalla, Bhasin and Virmani and the second by Roy and van der Weide, arrive at “dramatically different conclusions.” Although each approach has its shortcomings, Ideas for India says the studies “highlight that the real poverty that lies behind the Great Poverty Debate 2.0 is the poverty of data.”

When it comes to assessing poverty in India, despite the lack of official recent statistics on poverty rates, one may consider elements that link to poverty, such as literacy rates or food insecurity, to paint a picture of a country’s overall poverty conditions.

Illiteracy and Food Insecurity as Indicators of Poverty

Indeed, illiteracy is linked to poor financial conditions as poverty often means low-income families are unable to afford quality education for their children. In India, according to 2017-18 data from the National Statistical Office (NSO), the latest literacy rate in India overall stands at about 77.7%. This means the national illiteracy rate stands at 22.3%, which means, in a population of about 1.4 billion people, a significant portion of people cannot read or write. Such a high illiteracy rate correlates to high poverty rates in India.

Regarding food insecurity rates in India, according to the Global Hunger Index (GHI) of 2022, India has regressed by six positions since 2021, ranking 107th out of 121 countries in terms of hunger levels. India scored 29.1, which equates to a “serious” level of hunger. According to data from 2019-2021, 16.3% of India’s population suffers from undernourishment. Furthermore, around 35.5% of Indian children under 5 suffer stunting, a form of malnutrition with detrimental consequences.

End Poverty

End Poverty is an Indian NGO established in 2009 to develop innovative and creative solutions to address poverty in India. Though mandated to work across India, End Poverty currently works in seven Indian states: Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa.

End Poverty directly supports and empowers the poorest by providing them with opportunities to attain an education, develop skills and secure employment opportunities in order to rise out of poverty. End Poverty has three core programs in place: rural development, dairy development and sustainable agriculture.

The rural development program is important because about 68% of India’s people live in rural areas, according to 2011 data, and poverty is more pronounced in rural areas. The rural development activities include establishing infrastructure and schools, providing opportunities for income generation, strengthening access to education and providing water, hygiene and sanitation services.

Despite the lack of official recent statistics on poverty in India, one can use other indicators, such as the illiteracy rate, to assess the poverty level in India. Moreover, the important work of researchers contributes to a better understanding of the country’s socioeconomic conditions. But, regardless of the precision of statistics, the efforts of organizations help counter poverty by improving the standards of living among the most disadvantaged people.

– Evan Da Costa Marques
Photo: Unsplash

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Progress Towards Poverty Reduction in Cambodia

Poverty Reduction in Cambodia
Cambodia’s economy has improved drastically over recent years, and this growth has followed a considerable poverty reduction in Cambodia. According to a study by Asian Development Bank (ADB), the national income per capita increased from $250 in 1998 to $795 in 2008. Furthermore, Cambodia’s economy sustained an average annual growth rate of 7.7% between the years 1998 and 2019, setting a record high for developing nations around the world.

Garment Industry

Cambodia’s economy solely rests upon its agriculture industry, tourism, garment production industry and construction industry. The garment industry, in particular, has boomed in recent years and contributed heavily to the nation’s economic development. For example, 40% of garments that the European Union (EU) receives come from Cambodia. This number totals 30% for the United States, 9% for Canada and 4% for Japan. Multinational brands such as Adidas, Gap, H&M, Marks and Spencer and Uniqlo have garment factories located in Cambodia. Furthermore, the garment production sector in Cambodia has employed more than 600,000 Cambodians and accounts for more than 16% of the national gross domestic product (GDP).

Strides in Public Health

Development in other fields, such as public health, has followed poverty reduction in Cambodia. According to the World Bank, the nation’s life expectancy has also increased from 58 years in 2000 to 70 years in 2020. The under-five mortality rate decreased from 106.3 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 26.6 per 1,000 live births in the year 2019. The national government is buckling down on its commitment to the Health Equity and Quality Improvement Project (H-EQIP). The project, issued in 2016, has a commitment to implementing better health care for all Cambodian citizens.

The Cambodian Ministry of Health (MOH) has also initiated special services to help underserved communities and regions within the nation. An example of this is the voucher program for women’s reproductive services. Through the program, grants go to referral hospitals across the nation to help them better serve those in need. In addition to such programs, USAID has worked in Partnership with Cambodia in the last five years to further its public health systems. USAID has helped to train medical staff in tuberculosis management information systems in 47 hospitals across the nation. USAID has also distributed more than 37,000 mosquito nets to dengue and malaria-prone areas in Cambodia.

Future Strategies

Going forward, the Cambodian government has future plans to further eliminate poverty within their nation. The Cambodia Sustainable Development Goals 2016-2030, National Poverty Reduction Strategy 2003-2005 and the National Strategic Development Plan 2019-2023 are all key cornerstones for Cambodia’s development. The key focus of poverty reduction initiatives has roots in implementing better social protection, ensuring equal access to economic resources and protecting ownership over land and property – three pillars that can support poverty reduction in Cambodia.

Attending to Infrastructural Gaps

The World Bank Group’s work in Cambodia has a focus on adopting a rectangular strategy for development. The World Bank Group plans to address issues such as a lack of human capital, infrastructural gaps and limited professional development programs in Cambodia. A prerequisite for these goals is improving access to education in Cambodia, which in itself can be an antidote to poverty. Since 2016, 97.7% of all Cambodian children have attended school. Furthermore, student drop-out rates have plummeted both in cities and rural areas. These are all positive signs of progress that depict further poverty reduction in Cambodia.

Given the multilateral development that has taken place in Cambodia in the last decade, the nation has surpassed the lower middle-income tier and is now on its way to becoming an upper-middle-income nation by 2030. With sustained effort, collaboration and attention to infrastructural development, Cambodia has the potential to further its economy whilst eradicating poverty within its borders.

– Samyudha Rajesh
Photo: Unsplash

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The Four Pillars of the Graduation Approach to Poverty Reduction

The Four Pillars of the Graduation Approach to Poverty Reduction
After years of successful poverty reduction, the COVID-19 pandemic may cause 150 million people to return to severe poverty. Poverty is “a cyclical pattern where the multidimensional causes of extreme poverty prevent people from acquiring the resources to escape it.” However, the graduation approach to poverty reduction has proved successful in overcoming the multifaceted obstacles of extreme poverty.

What Is the Graduation Approach?

In 2002, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) established the graduation approach to poverty reduction. The graduation approach is a way of attacking extreme poverty from multiple angles. A “set of interventions designed to address the” complexity of the issue are implemented to provide the “’big push’ people need to escape the poverty trap long term.” Since 2018, the graduation approach has reached almost 14 million people in 50 different countries. And, it is being used by more than 100 organizations. 

BRAC pioneered the approach in Bangladesh in 2002. There, it had a 95% graduation from poverty success rate. Its success is attributed “to a combination of consumption support and asset/cash transfers, followed by up to two years of training” and mentoring. The program can last anywhere from 18-36 months per household with an average cost of only $1,400.

The Four Pillars of the Graduation Approach

Over time, the graduation approach to poverty reduction has been broken down into four main pillars.

  1. Social Protection – Social protection means meeting the basic needs of participants before pushing ahead with the program. This includes providing cash stipends, consumption support and access to health care.
  2. Income Generation –  At this point in the program, households are provided with productive asset transfers that help them maintain sustainable incomes. This could be in the form of equipment, seeds or livestock. The participants are also given vocational and farm-based training in order to improve their technical skills. 
  3. Financial Support – This pillar focuses on providing training to participants on how to manage their incoming and outgoing finances. Participants are taught that savings help circumvent difficult times. They are introduced to community savings groups and mentoring that help generate income. When a household completes the graduation program the participants are connected with more conventional financial institutions to provide them with long-term support and growth.
  4. Social Empowerment – Throughout the graduation approach, participants learn many new life skills through mentoring, peers and coaching. These new skills provide participants with confidence and opportunities to become more integrated with their communities. 

Graduation Success Rate in the Philippines

From June 2018 to September 2020, 1,800 households in the Philippines participated in a pilot of the graduation approach to poverty. Findings showed that 71% of households met all the “criteria under the four pillars of graduation” and saw improvement in their life skills and financial management. The participants greatly improved their hygiene, nutrition and health practices as they retained at least 80% of their life skills training. At the start of the program, 74% of participants had access to a sanitary toilet. By the end of the program, everyone had access to one.

Despite the program taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic, the participants were still able to initiate livelihoods and earn income. As of September 2020, around 60% of individual livelihoods remained fully operational and 73% of group livelihoods remained intact. The graduation approach to poverty reduction also taught participants how to react to changing trends in the market due to the pandemic. In turn, participants were able to stay above the food poverty threshold.

The Impact

Overall, the graduation approach to poverty reduction has proved extremely successful. It provides the “big push” that individuals living below the poverty line need in order to escape the cyclical trap. With new knowledge, resources and savings, individuals that have been through the graduation program are set up for long-term success.

– Trystin Baker
Photo: Unsplash

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Updates on Vietnam’s Poverty

Vietnam’s PovertyVietnam is a country in Southeast Asia. Although there are still a fair amount of impoverished citizens in Vietnam, the percentage of people living in poverty has dropped significantly from 2008 to 2010. Ever since then, Vietnam’s poverty has been gradually decreasing annually.

Vietnam’s Poverty Rates in the Past

In 1992, around 94% of citizens lived with under $5.50 per day. Numbers have been improving by small percentages every year since then. However, the greatest significant change was from 2008 to 2010 when the rate of impoverished citizens went from around 78% to 47%. Since 2010, numbers have gone to around 36% in 2014. In 2018, the percentage of those living in poverty was around 23%.

Vietnam’s Present Poverty Rates

In 2019, preliminary data displays that Vietnam’s GDP has increased by 7%. The GDP per capita has reached $2,700. That same year, around 45 million people were uplifted from poverty. Currently, the country has one of the fastest-growing rates in the region. Vietnam has changed from low to a middle-income country. Those who still remain in poverty are usually citizens who are ethnic minorities.

Living in Vietnam

Ella Ha was born in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. She grew up in Saigon, Vietnam. Ella spent most of her childhood there, and she has witnessed how much the city has changed since the war. She agreed to speak on her experiences living in Vietnam.

When asked what was different about her birth city present day compared to the past, Ella said, “the method of transportation, the amount of food and the buildings are what changed the most. During the war, many people did not have the luxury to eat several foods that are offered today. Also, the buildings are now more advanced compared to what we had back then.”

During the interview she stated, “it’s evident that poverty levels have decreased in the city. Although there are still homeless people, the majority of the citizens I see in the city wear pretty clothes and have good food to eat. Back then, I would eat bread with my family if we could not afford sausages or chicken.”

Ella adds, “a lot has changed since the Vietnam War, but it is for the better.”

Government Intervention

Since the early 1990s, the Vietnamese government has been directly trying to reduce poverty by providing the impoverished with credit, housing and food. The government also launched the Hunger Eradication and Poverty Reduction Programme (HEPR) in 1998. Since then, hunger rates have been decreasing at an accelerated speed. Every year, the program would broadcast their goal on television on helping those with chronic diseases, in poverty and facing famine. This helps remind all citizens that such issues are still relevant, and it gathers support and donations from the community.

Overall, Vietnam’s poverty rates have improved since the last three decades. From slightly decreasing to seeing a drastic change, the future of the country looks positive. With the help from the communities and the government, Vietnam’s poverty percentages will gradually drop even more and eventually diminish.

– Megan Ha
Photo: Flickr